.
Nab. State Historical Society
1 The Frontier
% _ __
VOL. LVI O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1936. No. 46
"COMMITTEES BEING
ELECTED TO CARRY
NEW SOIL PROGRAM
ENew Program of Benefit Payments
To Farmers Getting Started
In This County.
The community meetings for the
fnew soil conservation program will
be held according to the schedule
given below for the purpose of
electing three community commit
teemen and one alternate. These
men will have the responsibility of
appraising the farms in their com
munity on the new program.
The main points of the plan will
be explained and registration cards
signed. Only those signing regis
tration cards can vote. So it is
very necessary and important for
everyone to be there.
Following is the time, place and
date of the community meetings:
Meetings for Friday, April 3—
Inman, Finkbine Bros., at 8 p. m.;
Iowa and Antelope, Dist. No. 128,
8 p. m.; Emmet and Pleasant View,
O’Connor’s Hall, 2 p. m.; Atkinson,
Memorial Hall at 8 p. m.; Sheridan
at Memorial Hall, 8 p. m.
Saturday, April 4—Verdigris at
Odd Fellows Hall, Page, 2 p. m.;
Grattan, Court Room, 2 p. m.
Monday, April 6—Cleveland and
Dustin, Cleveland church, 2 p. m.;
Sand Creek, Celia school, 8 p. m.;
Scott, Scott town hall, 2 p. m.;
Steel Creek, Dist. No. 4, 8 p. m.
Tuesday, April 7—Stuart, Li.
brary, 2 p, m.; Shields, Town Hall,
8 p. m.; Saratoga-Colman, Syfie’s
store, 2 p. m.; Rock Falls, Dist.
No. 33, 8 p. m.
Wednesday, April 8—Paddock,
f Town Hall, 2 p. m.; Willowdale,
Dist. No. 96, 8 p. m.
Meetings were held for Conley,
Chambers - Shamrock, Lake - Mc
Clure, Ewing-Golden, Deloit, Swan
Josie, Wyoming-Fairveiw, and Holt
Creek-Green Valley-Francis Wed
nesday and Thursday this week.
Community committeemen elect
ed by farmers who intend to take
part in the soil conservation pro
gram will appraise the soil deplet
ing base on each farm as a starting
point for the new program. They
will ask the farmer how many
acres of corn, wheat, oats, barley
and similar crops he had in 1935
and use that acreage as a guide.
They will also compare the farm
with those around it, take into con
sideration any land on which crops
were planted but not harvested in
1935, and any contracted acres on
the farm in 1935.
The base will be called “soil de
pleting base.” In 1936 the farmer
will meet the conditions under
which grants of money can be made
if he reduces the acreage in soil
depleting crops and increases the
acreage in soil conserving crops.
Payments will be made at a rate
per acre which will correspond
quite favorably to the rates paid
for corn retirement under the corn
hog program.
A second type of payment called
“soil building payment” will be
made for certain practices w’hich
farmers adopt which tend to build
up the productivity of the farm.
These payments will be at a rate
of about 10 per cent of the amount
of the payment for changing from
soil depleting to soil conserving
crops.
While the classification of crops
into soil depleting, soil conserving
and soil building groups has not
been officially announced, farmers
can generally figure that the com
mon grain crops are soil depleting,
while alfalfa, sweet clover, and
probably the temporary pasture
crops are soil conserving. Recom
mendations of Nebraska farmers
have been collected for considera
tion of the state committee, as
quickly as it is set up. Informa
tion will be in the hands of the
agricultural agents within the next
few days regarding different crops.
Clarke-McNary Trees
Have Been Shipped
With shipment of Clarke-Mc
Nary trees this week from the Ne
braska National forest at Halsey
and from storage at Fremont, Holt
county farmers who have requested
the seedlings and transplants will
soon be putting them in the ground.
A total of 31,700 trees were order
ed by Holt county farmers this
year.
In reminding farmers that their
trees will be shipped at once. Ag
ricultural Agent Reece this week
urged them to carefully plant the
seedlings in order to get the best
survival. As soon as the bundle is
received, the trees should be re
moved and their roots placed in a
bucket of water or thin mud. Roots
should not be exposed while plant
ing. A few minutes exposure to
direct sun or wind often damages
the tender roots of broadleaf trees
and is sure death to evergreens.
The trees should be planted direct
ly from the bucket, one at a time.
In planting open a hole with a
spade large enough to permit the
roots to spread out. Then pack
them firmly with fine soil. Water
each tree to be sure that these
roots have available moisture im
mediately and then rake a little
loose soil around the tree to con
serve this moisture. Leave a slight
depression around the tree to catch
the rainfall.
City Election Will Be
Held Next Tuesday
The city election will be held
next Tuesday. There are no con
tests for any of the offices, except
in the Third ward, where two old
timers will contest at the ballot
box for supremecy. Eli Hershiser,
who has been a resident of the
county for over half a century will
contest for the job of councilman
i of the Third ward with Levi Yant
I zi, present councilman and a native
of this county. It will be a friend
ly contest, however, as neither of
the twp are taking the matter ser.
iously.
Voters of the First ward will
vote at the council room in the
Nebraska State Bank building. In
the Second ward voting will be at
the K. C. Hall, and at the pump
house in the Third ward.
BRIEFLY STATED
Editors Kelly, of Atkinson;
Coats, of Stuart; Murfin, of Page,
and Hammer, of Chambers, were
in the city last Saturday on business
connected with their profession and
all were callers at this office.
The fire department was called
out last Sunday night when fire
was discovered in the second hand
store of John McClellan on north
Fourth street. The department
succeeded in putting out the fire
without serious damage to the
building or contents.
Miss Helen Toy was a member of
the piano duet that played several
selections on the WJAG radio pro
gram, broadcast from the auditor
ium of the Wayne State Teachers
college Friday afternoon. Miss
Toy is a sophomore at Wayne and
takes a prominent part in school
activities.
Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Butts, of Ne
braska City, came up last night and
expect to spend a few weeks visit
ing at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
D. II. Cronin. Mr. Butts is just
getting over a spell of sickness and
decided that the bracing air of Holt
county would be of benefit in his
convalesence.
The sale of new automobiles
keeps right on in this county. Dur
ing the month of March, 38 new
cars were registered at the office
of the county treasurer. For the
first three months of 1936 there
have been 126 new automobiles and
trucks registered in the office of
the county treasurer, and the first
three months of this year have not
been very good months for the
driving of cars.
Mrs. M. A. Summers, for many
years living northeast of this city,
was a caller at this office last Sat
urday. She called to have her
paper changed from Page to Bart
lett, as she is now living in the
Wheeler county seat keeping house
for two of her granddaughters who
are attending high school at Bart
lett. She expects to return to her
farm home northeast of here after
the school year is over.
ERRATUM
In an item in this paper last
week telling about the return of
Will O’Connor to Holt county the
last sentence of the paragraph
which says, “There are some 40,000
employed on federal jobs that are1
of no consequence with nothing ac
complished after the workers pass
on,” was not a statement of Mr.
O’Connor’s. The way the note is
written it appeared to be. We re
gret this error Will.
LAST RITES HELD
FOR MEL PUTMAN
Was One of the County’s Oldest
Residents, Homesteading
Here In 1882.
J. Millard Putman died at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. Ed
Hood, on the Niobrara river last
Saturday afternon after a short
illness of a heart attack, at the age
of 75 years, 7 months and 17 days.
The funeral was held Tuesday
afternoon at the Pleasant Valley
church, Rev. A. J. May of this city
officiating, and burial in the ceme
tery there.
J. Millard Putman, or Mel as he
was called by his legion of friends,
was born at Glovesville, N. Y., on
Aug. 11, 1860, where he grew to
manhood. He came west and to
this county in October, 1882, and
took a homestead on the Eagle
northwest of this city, where he
resided for over fifty years, mov
ing to this city a couple of years
ago and for a time made his home
with his daughters here, but was
more content on the farm where he
had spent most of his life. He
always enjoyed good health and,
while in this city, there was not a
day that he was not around town
visiting with his many old time
friends. He was visiting at his
daughters when he was seized with
the fatal heart attack.
On April 8, 1895, he was united
in marriage in this city to Miss
Martha Walters. To this union sev
en children were born, two sons and
five daughters. One of his sons
died in infancy and the following
are left to mourn the passing of a
kind and affectionate father: Mrs.
Ed Hood, Spencer; Mrs. C. M. Fon
taine, Spencer; Louie Putman, of
Spencer; Mrs. George Thavenet
and Mrs.Mary Sharp, O’Neill; Mrs.
Edward Bentz, Hornick, Iow’a.
Mel Putman was a good citizen
and he had many friends in this
city and county who regret the
passing of another of the old pion
eers, who endured all the hardships
and privations of the early days,
in the vast wilderness that this sec
tion of the state was in the 80’s,
in making it one of the most de
sirable sections of western Nebras
ka. The old pioneers worked and
worked hard in order that the ris
ing generation might enjoy some of
the comforts of life, enjoyed by
people in the more populous sec
t^us of the country. In this they
were successful and they are rap
idly passing from the field of action
but their deeds and labors remain
as a monument to the hardy pion
eers of the eighties.
Pasture Contest Entry
Date Extended to May 1
Holt county farmers have until
May 1 to enter the Nebraska 1936
Pasture Contest, Agricultural Ag
ent F. M. Reece learned this week
as the deadline for accepting en
tries has extended from April 1
until that date.
Adverse weather conditions of
past weeks together with later de
velopments in the new farm pro
gram which lends encouragement
to farmers to improve grazing land
were given as the reasons for the
extension of the time for accepting
entries.
Anyone interested should con
tact Mr. Reece and secure applica
tion blanks.
Donna Rae Cooper
Is On the Way Up
Donna Rae Cooper, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Cooper, formerly
of this city, is rapidly making a
name for herself, according to the
following taken from the Lincoln
State Journal of April 2:
“Donna Rae Cooper, daughter of
Ted Cooper who ran the Marigold
ballroom for some time here, has
taken New Orleans by storm, ac
cording to the New Orleans Tri
bune. She’s singing and dancing
there at a popular hotel with
Frankie Masters and his band.
Mel Washburn, columnist on the
paper, states: ‘Frankie picked her
up on the way thru Nebraska when
he was going from San Francisco
to Chicago. She’s the first enter
tainer I know of to come from
Lincoln with the exception of the
late William Jennings Bryan.’ ’’
Mrs. George Mitchell and child
ren, Phyllis and Donald,spent Mon
day in Sioux City visiting friends,
going there and returning by train.
The Weather
A little over three inches of snow
fell Sunday night and about 7
inches of snow fell Tuesday and
Tuesday and part of Wednesday
added .98 hundreths of an inch to
the precipitation for the year. Al
thc latter is credited to the month
of April on the local record of the
weather bureau as having in April
most of it fell during the month
of March.
The ground is now in fine con
dition to absorb the moisture and it
looks as if the soil in this county
was now' in the best condition this
spring than it has been for several
years in this section of the state.
The snow did not drift very much
and traffic was not seriously im
peded on the highways in this
section.
High Low Mois.
March 27 _ 63 19
March 28 .— €6 33
March 29 69 20
March 30 .. 36 13 .30
March 31 _ 19 11
I April 1 _ _ 19 12 .68
i April 2 ... 8
___
Candidates for Office
Are On the Move
Paul P. Chaney, of Lincoln, as
sistant attorney general of the
state and a candidate for the demo
cratic nomination for attorney gen
eral, was an O'Neill visitor Tues
day and favored this office with a
pleasant call. Mr. Chaney is well
known in this city as he was a
resident here in 1921-22, being an
assistant engineer at tfiat time
when they were laying out various
roads in this section of the state.
Since that time he studied law and
has been practicing for several
years and has made an enviable
record in his chosen profession and
seems to be in line for the position
of his chief, who is not a candidate
for re-nomination or re-election.
Mr, Chaney has many friends in
this city and we look for him to
receive a majorPv of the demo
cratic voteH cast in this city and
vicinity at the primary election. If
a democrat is to be the next at
torney general of the state we be
lieve that Mr. Chaney would make
a splendid official.
Emil Placek, of Wahoo, demo
! cratic candidate for the nomination
jfor United States senator, was an
! O’Neill visitor last Tuesday and
favored this office with a pleasant
call. We have known Mr. Placek
for over a quarter of a century and
; know him to be a good citizen and
I a prosperous and successful busi
nessman, and if a democrat is to
succeed the veteran Senator Norris
in the senate it might as well be
Emil Placek as any other democrat,
and we know from a long acquaint
ance that he is far superior in in
tellect and business ability to at
least half of the candidates for the j
same position on his ticket. While!
we hated to throw cold water on
his aspirations we assured him it j
was our honest opinion that a re
publican would be elected to fill
that position in the senate at the
next election, and that he would
not be of the rubber stamp variety, i
And Emil smiled. But here, let me
add, that Emil Placek was never
a rubber stamp for any man. He
has positive convictions and is free
to express them, when occasion de
mands. Should fortune smile on
him and he secures the nomination
at the primaries Nebraska would
be assured of two good candidates ,
for the United States senate
and Placek will be a foeman worthy j
of the best we have in the party.
GRATTAN PROJECT CLUB
The Grattan Project Club met at
the High School gymnasium Wed
nesday, March 18, to attend the
laundry demonstration given there.
Eleven members were present.
They met again Friday afternoon,
March 20, at the home of Mrs. Clar
ence Hoxie. Mrs. Hoxie gave a
very interesting demonstration on
machine sewing. Twelve members
were present and Mrs. Robert La/nb
was a guest of the afternoon. A
nice lunch was served at the close
of the afternoon’s meeting.
Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Biglin drove
down to Sioux City last Friday
morning for a visit with their son,
Joseph, who is in a hospital there.
Mrs. Biglin remained there with
her son until Monday, when she
returned home, Mr. Biglin coming
back Friday night. Joe i3 getting
along nicely and will probably be
home the end of the week.
FORM ASSOCIATION
TO SUPPLY COUNTY
BOOKS ANI) FORMS
Under X New Hoard Action Holt
County Printers Will Furnish
All Printed Supplies.
The newspaper publishers of
Holt county, at a meeting last Sat
urday, got together and organized
an association to handle all the
printing and the furnishing of sup
plies for Holt county for the year
1936. This organization was form
ed, in response to a resolution pass
ed by the Holt County Board of
Supervisors at their meeting on
March 24, 1936, when they awarded
all of the business of the county
to the newspapers of the county#
provided they could get together
on the proposition. Heretofore
hundreds of dollars of printed mat
ter, that could be handled in this
county, was sent to the cities in
other parts of the state, thus de
priving the newspapers and print
ing plants of this county of busi
ness that rightfully belonged to
them. All the newspapers of the
county pay taxes in the county
and should receive the business,
but we are sorry to say that for
several years they have not been
receiving it. The members of the
county board, at least a large ma
jority of them, were of the opinion
that this business should stay in
the county and they gave it to the
local papers, they to apportion the
work on a basis that they agreed
on. This will mean an increased
revenue for each office in the county
and, we believe, will result in a
substantial saving to Holt county
taxpayers.
At the meeting Saturday, which
was participated in by all the pub
lishers in the county, except one—
and he wrote that it would be im
possible for him to attend—they
elected officers and made arrange
ments for the permanent organi
zation. Officers of the association
for this year are as follows: Presi
dent, E. B. Murfin, Page Reporter;
[ Secretary, R. J. Kelly, Atkinson
(Graphic; Treasurer, D. II. Cronin,
The Frontier, O’Neill.
O’Neill Hunters Find
Crow Meat Pallitable
Monday afternoon tenO’Neillites
sank teeth into their old enemy and
found it the best eating they had
encountered in a coon’s age. The
ten are hunters who ate crow meat.
They are thought to be the first
Nebraskans to eat meat of Nebras
ka crows. The hunters read of
others declaring this meat good
and a couple of the boys went out
and brought in a bag and had the
birds cooked at the Country Club
Inn.
All of the meat was eagerly con
sumed and every one of the diners
are satisfied there is no meat su
perior to that of the common and
detested crow. They are eager to
have others sample this meat so
the crows may be thinned out to
give other birds such as prairie
chickens, pheasants and quail and
ducks a chance to increase to their
normal numbers.
Those who partook of the crow
meat here are Clem Cuddy, John
Fox, Richard Bowden, Fred Calk
ins, Jack Davidson, Phillip Demp
sey, Lloyd Godel, Les Uhl, Shobert
Edwards and Julian Rummel. As
fas as they are concerned, the ten
hunters brought back the good old
days of plenty of game since they
say crow hunting is exciting, and
of course profitable when the meat
is highly appreciated.
Arthur Cowperthwaite received
word Monday night of the death of
his brother-in-law, Ross Peterson,
that evening in a Lincoln hospital.
Mrs. Cowperthwaite went to Lin
coln about a week ago and was
with her brother when he passed
away. The funeral was held this
afternoon at the old family home
at Beaver Crossing. Mr. Cowper
thwaite intended leaving this
morning for Beaver Crossing to
attend the funeral, but the snow
of the past few days has made the
roads almost impassable in many
places and he was forced to forego
the trip. Mr. Peterson was about
55 years of age and was a native
of Saline county.
Cerlanos Vanderlinden, who left
here about two weeks ago found
work near Helena, Mont., according
to word received here by relatives.
Hospital Notes
Clark Standiford, of Kearney,
Nebr., was quite seriously injured
Tuesday afternoon when the car
he was driving left the highway
and ran into a fence. He was
brought in and it was found neces
sary to amputate a part of one of
his thumbs. His face and upper
jaw bones were broken and cuts
and bruises were sustained. He is
resting quite comfortable at pre
sent. His wife and a friend who
were with him were uninjured.
David C. Cole, of Witten, S. D.,
and sister, Mrs. John Lee, of Dallas,
S. D., were hit by another car on
the highway Tuesday afternoon
and found seriously injured. Mtb.
Lee sustained farctured ribs and
cuts and bruises, while Mr. Cole
had his hand fractured, his neck
and shoulder injured which was
quite painful. Mrs. Lee’s daught
er and Mr. Cole’s son were in the
car but escaped with siight cuts and
bruises.
We neglected to mention in the
last notes that baby Melvin Roy
Cheyney, who has been in the
hospital since the 18th of Novem
ber, was taken to the university at
Lincoln to remain a few months
until old enough to be cared for at
home. The little one is greatly
missed at the hospital where he
won the love and affection of every
one.
Final Bouts In Boxing
Tourney Mostly Draws
The boxing tournament staged
here at the public school gym four
evenings last week was wound up
last Friday evening before a full
house of spectators. The contests
were put on by members of the “O”
club of the school. Winners were
announced as follows:
Bantamweights, Jack Brittell
won over Richard Loy; feather
weights, Clinton Wolfe and How
ard Jeffrey, draw; lightweights,
Louis Cambre won over Tom Wy
ant by default; welterweights. Bill
Randall and Leonard Bergstrom, a
draw; middleweigbts, Buck Hunt
and Jack Vincent, draw; light
heavies, Carl Luben and Robert
Calvert fought a draw.
Beside the above classified fights
there were some extra good exhi
bition matches. Charles Smith and
Clayton Bellar, draw; Walter Fick
won over Bill Strong; Cleo Crabbg
and Joe Langan, draw; Doyle Kel
lar and George Strong, draw; Bill
Fick won over Fritz Kelley, and a
sort of family disturbance was the
fistic fandagoes of the brothers
Tibbett, Arthur and Richard, who
stuffed hot padded messages in
each other’s faces so well and even
ly the referee had to admit all the
Tibbets in the ring were just as
busy as they could have been.
No Opposition
Ah Major Bowes would say “for
tune smiles on some, while on oth
ers it turns the other way.” In the
primary election, County Attorney
Julius D. Cronin, of this city, and
Earl J. Moyer, of Madison, are
candidates for delegates to the re
publican national conevention at
Cleveland next June and they are
without opposition. There is gen
erally quite a squabble for these
positions and it is not often that
candidates are unopposed at the
polls. As far back as we can re
member this is the third time in
the history of the county that a
citizen of this county attended a
national convention as a represent
ative of his congressional district.
About 25 years ago the late 0. O.
Snyder was a delegate from this
district to the republican national
convention. Four years ago Judge
J. A. Donohoe was one of the demo
cratic delegates to the national |
convention in Chicago that nomin
ated the president. And it looks
as if history was going to repeat.
Atkinson Man A Suicide
Albert Lemmcr, Sr., 76, resident
of Atkinson for the past twenty
five years, ended his life by hang
ing on the afternoon of March 20.
He hung himself in a corn crib at
the stockt yards a short distance
west of his farm home. He left no
message and his family are at a
loss to account for his act.
■ ■ ■ — . -
Spar4s from a chimney set fire
to the roof of the Mrs. M. R. Sul
livan residence last Monday morn,
ing about 7.30, which were quickly
extinguished by the fire depart
ment. Damage was very light.
CONKLIN SENTENCE
TWO TO FIVE YEARS
IN PENITENTIARY
Sentenced Last Saturday On Check
Charge And Taken Tuesday
To the Penitentiary.
On last Saturday Cecil W. Conk
lin was sentenced by Judge R. R.
Dickson to an indeterminate sent
ence of from two to five years at
hard labor in the state penitentiary
in Lincoln and he was taken to the
penitentiary by Sheriff Duffy last
Tuesday afternoon.
Conklin was convicted in a trial
in the district court on March 1!»
of “uttering a check with a forged
endorsement, knowing it to be
forged, with the intent to defraud.”
Conklin was former commander
of the local American Legion post
and formerly held an important
position with the state department,
with headquarters in Lincoln, Nebr.
Mrs. Bessie A. Brittell
Dies Tuesday At Inman
Mrs. Bessie A. Brittell died at
her home in Inman last Tuesday,
after an illness of several months,
at the age of 35 years, 3 months
and 30 days. The funeral was held
at 2 o’clock this afternoon at the
M. E. church in Inman, Rev. Ray
mond Wylie officiating and burial
in the cemetery at Inman.
Bessie A. Brittell was born in
Omaha, Nebr., on Dec. 1, 1900.
When she was a little girl her
parents moved to Neligh and in
that city on Sept. 12, 1917, she was
united in marriage to Lloyd Brit
tell, and they moved to Inman
where she had since made her
home. Shc^leaves her husband and
three children, two (laughters and
one son, to mourn the passing of
a kind and airectionate wife and
mother. The children are:
Hilda, Alice and Harold. Her
mother also survives and one sister,
Mrs. Ellen Johnson, of Omaha, and
: two brothers, Arthur Crosby, of
I Omaha, and Harold Regean, of Elk
' Creek, Nebraska.
Practical Jokers At
Work April First
Yesterday was April 1, April
Fool's day, and many practical
jokers of the city had a lot of fun.
Many business institutions receiv
ed orders for goods and when they
were delivered the housewives de
nied ever having ordered the goods
delivered, and they were forced t<>
take them back. About the only
one that is ahead in the deal that
we have heard of is an O’Neill cit
izen for whom some friend ordered
several gallons of fuel oil
he of course, knowing nothing
about it. The fuel oil was deliver
ed and placed in his tank without
the owners knowledge or consent.
Will the practical joker pay for it.
hardly, as he thinks it was a
mighty good joke.
Alder Taken To State
Hospital at Lincoln
Deputy Sheriff Bergstrom drove
down to Lincoln last Saturday
taking McKinley Alder to the
state hospital there. Berg return
ed home Sunday night and he say.*
it was one of the worst nights he
ever put in on the road, as it \va.*
snowing and drifting and the snow
sticking to the windshield made it
almost impossible to see the road
Added to his other troubles he had
a flat tire this side of Orchard
and was compelled to walk a mile
for assistance. Oh, yes, it is lot
of fun driving a car in winter
weather.
_
Buy Land For Postoffice
Fred, C. Hawxby, of Omaha, as
sistant United States district at
torney, and a candidate for the
democratic nomination for attorney
general of Nebraska, was in the
city last Thursday afternoon and
Friday and paid over the money for
the new postoffice site and now the
title is in the hands of Uncle Sam.
Bids for the construction of the
building are being asked for and
it will not be long now before work
on this addition to the city will be
started.
A sample ballot of the primary
election to be held on Tuesday,
April 14, will be published in The
Frontier next week, the county
board having designated The Front
ier as one of the two papers in the
county to print this sample ballot.